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HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL
ECONOMY
Health law deadline drawing near
Work’s available Openings increase to highest level since 2001 By NINA GLINSKI
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of people who signed up under the new health care law risk losing their taxpayersubsidized insurance unless they act quickly to resolve questions about their citizenship or immigration status. The government warned on Tuesday that they have just over three weeks to show that they’re eligible. Of the 8 million people who signed up for private coverage through President Barack Obama’s law, more than 2 million at one point had discrepancies of some sort that could have affected their eligibility. That number has been greatly reduced — but the remaining cases are proving difficult to untangle. Illegal immigrants are not allowed to get the coverage. Officials at the Health and Human Services Department said that letters are being sent to about 310,000 people with citizenship or immigration issues, many of whom haven’t responded to repeated outreach efforts. Many of them may be Hispanic, a group that historically has lagged in health insurance coverage. Indeed, two states with large Latino populations top the list of unresolved cases. Florida has 93,800 cases while Texas has 52,700. Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania round out the top five. Some supporters of the law worried that eligible consumers might lose coverage due to record-keeping problems on the government’s part, or because of something as mundane as letters getting lost in the mail. “Many of these people have issues because government files are incomplete,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA. “Many may feel that they have fully complied with what is necessary to get health coverage.” The number of problem cases was a lot larger only a few months ago, prompting criticism from congressional Republicans that the administration
was signing up people ineligible under the law. In May, there were nearly 970,000 people with citizenship or immigration problems. About half those cases have now been closed, officials said, and another 20 percent are being actively worked on. The letters will notify the remaining enrollees that they still need to upload their documents to HealthCare.gov by Sept. 5, or mail them in. Otherwise, their coverage will end on Sept. 30. The letters are being sent in English and Spanish. The new policy affects the 36 states where the federal government has taken the lead in running online insurance markets created by the law. It’s unclear how it will apply in places like California and New York, which are running their own insurance exchanges. Consumers who have unresolved discrepancies over their incomes will get notices at a later date. The new health law provides subsidized coverage to people with no access to health insurance on the job. More than 80 percent of those signed up are getting subsidies to help with their premiums and, in some cases, their copays and deductibles as well. But those taxpayer subsidies are contingent on meeting a host of requirements. The amount of a consumer’s premium tax credit can vary by income, family size, hometown and other factors. That can make getting covered through the law feel somewhat like doing your taxes. The letters that started going out Tuesday won’t be the final attempt to reach those with unresolved issues. HHS will try to contact each consumer two more times by phone and once via email. The administration is also working with local organizations to try to reach people directly in their homes. Consumers can also contact HealthCare.gov’s call center at 1-800-318-2596 to see what documents they need to submit and see whether their information has been received.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Job openings rose in June to the highest level in more than 13 years, firming up the U.S. labor market picture for the second half of the year. The number of unfilled positions climbed by 94,000 to 4.67 million, the most since February 2001, from a re-
vised 4.58 million in May, a report from the Labor Department showed Tuesday. Tuesday’s figures are among those on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s employment “dashboard,” which she uses to help guide monetary policy. The increase in openings, combined with the highest readings on the number of people hired and leaving their jobs
since 2008, means the healing in the labor market is broadening, albeit at a measured rate. “There’s improvement, but it’s still slow and uneven,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York. Hiring, firings and quits will need to be closer to pre-reces-
See JOBS
PAGE 11A
RECREATION
LOTS NOT TO BE SEEN Museum has much in storage By DAVID FLICK THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Photo by Mark Knight/Perot Museum of Nature and Science | AP
The $185 million Perot Museum of Nature and Science offers the public 180,000 square feet spread out over five floors with 11 permanent exhibit halls. However, some specimens in closed-to-the-public storage areas are more than a century old. The oldest — a snow bunting — dates to 1885.
DALLAS — On the five public floors of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, visitors can view 396 specimens of preserved animals and dinosaur bones. But there are another 117,703 museum artifacts they can’t see, and — with few exceptions — never will. The Dallas Morning News reports while the items include some books and artwork, the vast majority are animals — fossil remains from eons past and preserved specimens of animals that still walk the earth, said Karen Morton, the collections manager. Morton is in charge of cataloging and housing the specimens at three sites in Dallas: the old museum facilities in Fair Park, the basement of the new museum and an unmarked warehouse near the Dallas Design District. There, almost every square foot of the floor, walls and shelves is crowded. If you’re thinking of donating grandpa’s stuffed deer head in the attic, don’t. “We’re full. The rooms
See MUSEUM
PAGE 11A
ABORTION
State law could send women across borders By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA AND PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — Crossing borders is a part of life in El Paso in far West Texas, where people may walk into Mexico to visit family or commute to New Mexico for work. But getting an abortion doesn’t require leaving town. That could change if a federal judge upholds new Texas rules that would ban abortions at 18 clinics starting Sept. 1, including only one that offers the proce-
dure in El Paso, where one of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the U.S. has come under particular scrutiny at a trial ending Wednesday in Austin. Without any abortion providers in El Paso, women there would face a 550-mile trip to the nearest place in Texas to legally terminate a pregnancy. Attorneys for the state point out that women wouldn’t really have to drive that far: They could simply go to a clinic 15 minutes away in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Opponents of the new rules
say that argument shows the goal isn’t to protect women, as supporters contend. New Mexico — which one anti-abortion group mocks as the “anything goes” Wild West of abortion access — does not require the same new standards that Republican Gov. Rick Perry approved in 2013 in the name of protecting women’s health. It also doesn’t require the pre-abortion sonograms that Texas began mandating in 2012. “It’s hypocritical to say they want to protect women, to say that they want women to have a
safe abortion and then take away the clinics and make the women go to another state. How do you care about the women of Texas? They don’t care,” said Gerri Laster, who ran what had been a second abortion clinic in El Paso before it closed in June because of other new mandates. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel is not expected to immediately issue a ruling after closing arguments Wednesday, but he’ll be on a tight timeline. The law would leave just seven abortion facilities in Texas, all of
which would be in major cities and none in the western half of the nation’s second-largest state. The seven facilities that will remain already have operating rooms, sterile ventilation systems and other hospital-style standards that abortion providers are required to meet under the new Texas law. Outraged abortion clinic owners say they can’t afford to make those upgrades, which they criticize as unnecessary.
See BORDERS PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Thursday, Aug. 14
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicates Bridge Club meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
Thursday, Aug. 21 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicates Bridge Club meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
Friday, Aug. 22 South Texas Food Bank’s Empty Bowls VIII, mission of feeding the hungry fundraiser. 8:30 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena. Music by Motown Legends and Commodores. Beaumont Foundation to be honored. Tickets on sale at LEA box office and Ticketmaster for $10, $15, and $25. Contact Salo Otero at 324-2432.
Monday, Aug. 25 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English. Call Richard Renner (English) at 645-8649 or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 2370666.
Thursday, Aug. 28 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Los Amigos Duplicates Bridge Club meeting. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Spanish Book Club at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For information call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
Thursday, Sept. 4 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Sisters of Mercy “Conversations with the Sisters,” a series of discussions focusing on earth, nonviolence, women, racism and immigration. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 1000 Mier St.
Friday, Sept. 5 From 12 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Palenque Grill will be the Women in Leadership as positive role models event. Contact Abby Willett or Sylvia Praesel info@wwconnection.org.
Thursday, Sept. 11 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.
Saturday, Sept. 13 South Texas Collectors Expo. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena. Celebrities, comic book artists, cosplayers, vendors and more. Tickets on sale at LEA box office and Ticketmaster.com. Visit southtexascollectorsexpo.com or email info@stcelaredo.com.
Thursday, Sept. 18 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.
Thursday, Sept. 24 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org. Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.
Photo by Eric Gay/file | AP
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to scrap a proposal to expand the definition of federal waterways. The Republican gubernatorial candidate submitted a written public comment to the federal agency Monday. He threatened to sue if the proposal isn’t withdrawn.
Change could draw suit ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is poised for another clash with federal environmental regulators, this time over proposed water protections. Abbott wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to scrap a proposal to expand the definition of federal waterways. The Republican gubernatorial candidate submitted a written public comment to the federal agency Monday. He threatened to sue if the proposal isn’t withdrawn. The EPA proposed expanding the definition of federal waters to include seasonal and rain-dependent waterways. The agency said the move would stiffen penalties for polluting those waterways that supply drinking water to more than 11 million Texans. “It’s important to protect the whole net-
work of streams that flow into rivers and oceans,” said Ellen Gilinsky, a senior adviser for water at the federal agency. This dispute comes on the heels of a longrunning battle between the EPA and Texas over air pollution issues. The proposal “is without adequate scientific and economic justification and, if finalized, would erode private property rights and have devastating effects on the landowners of Texas,” Abbott wrote. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesman Terry Clawson said the regulatory agency is “concerned that EPA’s proposed rule expands its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act without Congressional approval.” David Foster, of the advocacy group Clean Water Action, said the TCEQ has shown little appetite for regulating the waterways.
US flags burned after being taken from homes
District amends dress code after suspensions
Galveston seawall meters generate more money
WEATHERFORD — Authorities are investigating eight separate instances of U.S. flags being stolen from homes and burned nearby. The burnings occurred over several days, from Thursday night into Sunday night. The flags were hanging from flag poles or homes and taken into the driveway or street where an accelerant was used to burn them.
DUNCANVILLE — A school district where more than 150 students were suspended in May for dress code violations has eased the attire rules. Trustees of the Duncanville Independent School District on Monday night decided students wearing pants will no longer be required to also have belts. Students will be allowed to wear shirts without a collar and untucked. The shirts must still cover their stomachs.
GALVESTON — Parking meters along Galveston’s famed seawall have generated more than $390,000 since being installed last summer. The program collected more than $157,000 between March and May. Figures show that compares to about $58,000 collected between December and February.
Quadruplets born: 2 boys, 2 girls BRYAN — A Central Texas woman has given birth to quadruplets. St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan on Tuesday announced the two boys, the two girls and their mother are all doing well. The premature quads were born Saturday night to Nyosha Boone of Bryan.
Man accused of firing on police, firefighters DALLAS — Police have arrested a 60-year-old man who they say placed explosive devices near a Dallas home and shot at officers and firefighters. Douglas Leguin of Corinth is being held without bail at the Dallas County jail, charged with seven counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.
Former parole officer gets 5 years for bribery HOUSTON — A now-former parole officer in the Texas prison system has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for accepting bribes from a suspected heroin dealer. Crystal M. Washington, also known as Crystal Bureau, worked at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice office in Houston before being arrested and fired. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Mother smiles through hearing on child’s slaying ASTORIA, Ore. — A woman accused of killing her infant daughter before trying to slit her teenage daughter’s throat has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder. Jessica Smith appeared by video in Clatsop County Circuit Court in Oregon on Tuesday. She smiled throughout the hearing. When asked whether she understood that she would not be released before a Sept. 30 court date, she winked.
Creditor opposes Detroit debt plan, says scrap it DETROIT — A major Detroit creditor on Tuesday objected to the bankrupt city’s plan to wipe out or reduce billions of dollars in debt, saying it should be scrapped before a trial scheduled to start next week. New York-based Syncora
Today is Wednesday, August 13, the 225th day of 2014. There are 140 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On August 13, 1934, the satirical comic strip “Li’l Abner,” created by Al Capp, made its debut. On this date: In 1624, King Louis XIII of France appointed Cardinal Richelieu his first minister. In 1792, French revolutionaries imprisoned the royal family. In 1814, the Cape Colony in southern Africa was ceded by the Dutch to Britain. Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Angstrom was born in Logdo. In 1846, the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles. In 1910, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at 90. In 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was again elected Speaker of Turkey’s Grand Assembly. In 1932, Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out “for all or nothing.” In 1946, author H.G. Wells, 79, died in London. In 1961, East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors and began building a wall that would stand for the next 28 years. In 1979, Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals became the 14th player in major league baseball history to reach the 3,000th career hit plateau as his team defeated the Chicago Cubs, 3-2. In 1981, in a ceremony at his California ranch, President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions. In 1989, searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 14 other people — there were no survivors. Ten years ago: A strongerthan-expected Hurricane Charley roared ashore Florida’s Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 4 storm, resulting in at least 10 U.S. deaths. Hutu marauders raided a U.N. refugee camp in western Burundi, shooting and hacking at least 150 Congolese Tutsis to death. The summer Olympic games officially opened in Athens. Today’s Birthdays: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is 88. Actor Pat Harrington is 85. Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is 81. Actor Kevin Tighe is 70. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is 68. Actress Gretchen Corbett is 67. Opera singer Kathleen Battle is 66. High wire aerialist Philippe Petit is 65. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke is 65. Golf Hall of Famer Betsy King is 59. Movie director Paul Greengrass is 59. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 55. TV weatherman Sam Champion is 53. Actress Dawnn Lewis is 53. Actor John Slattery is 52. Actress Debi Mazar is 50. Actress Quinn Cummings is 47. Actress Seana Kofoed is 44. Country singer Andy Griggs is 41. Country musician Mike Melancon (Emerson Drive) is 36. Actress Kathryn Fiore is 35. Pop-rock singer James Morrison is 30. Actress Lennon Stella (TV: “Nashville”) is 15. Thought for Today: “The great business of life is to be, to do, to do without, and to depart.” — John, Viscount Morley of Blackburn, English journalist (1838-1923).
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ................. 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium | AP
Two-year-old Jacob Snow, from Niles, Mich., gets a close-up look at a Gypsy Horse on Tuesday, during a visit to the Berrien County Youth Fair in Berrien Springs, Mich. Guarantee said in a court filing that the plan put together by state-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr and attorneys hired by the city is unfair, will be too costly to defend, and will ultimately fail. That would “squander a once-
in-a-lifetime opportunity to revitalize one of America’s most treasured cities,” the filing says. The largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is set for trial on Aug. 21. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Reuniting in the US Honduran teens, mom navigate life after their reunion By LAURA WIDES-MUÑOZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — Denia Zelaya arrived early at the Miami International Airport. She had last seen her eldest daughter nearly 10 years earlier, when she’d kissed a sleeping Anita and then slipped out of her family’s house. “I didn’t tell her goodbye,” she recalls. “I knew if she awoke, I couldn’t leave.” Anita was 6, her younger sister, Nicole, not yet 3. But Zelaya had made a choice: to flee the violent gangs in her native Honduras and come to the U.S. to find work. The plan was to save enough for a smuggler and then send for her children when they were old enough to endure the journey. This past April, Nicole, now 12, made it safely across the Texas border and on to Miami. That inspired 16-year-old Anita to attempt the trip with her own child, 3-year-old Emily. At the airport late last month, Zelaya worried she might not recognize her daughter. Then her eyes locked on a figure hauling a toddler on her hip. As the girl approached, Zelaya saw her mirror image: large hazel eyes, corkscrew curls and a tentative smile. Zelaya pulled daughter and granddaughter into her small frame. Anita buried
her face into her mother’s hair. A lone cry burst from her throat. They are just one family — in some ways, one of the luckiest. As thousands of Central American children have come across the Southwest border these past months — fleeing violence, searching for loved ones and looking to start anew in the U.S. — this family found each other again. But now there’s a complex legal system to navigate, new economic burdens and an unfamiliar home. Then there’s the delicate task of learning to become a family again, with the knowledge looming that their reunion in the U.S. could be temporary — more likely to end with deportation orders than asylum. Zelaya herself lives here illegally. She spent the last decade working in restaurants and, more recently, busing tables at an airport hotel. When she fled La Ceiba, Honduras, after witnessing the gang-killing of a nephew, Zelaya left Anita and Nicole first with her sister and then their great-grandmother. But without their mother, the children struggled. They were shuttled between relatives, often unable to go to school. The money Zelaya sent never lasted long.
“There were so many Christmases I couldn’t celebrate, because when I saw so many people hug each other I would just go cry and go to bed,” Anita recalls. In Miami, Zelaya decorated her bedroom walls with pictures of her children, even as she started a new life here. She had two American-born children: Elise, now 5, and David, 4. She spoke frequently by phone with Nicole and Anita, but often the calls left Zelaya in tears. “I just focused on working so one day I could bring them here,” she says. Then gang violence struck again. According to Anita and Zelaya, Anita was 13 when she was raped by gang members. They continued to harass her after Emily was born 9 months later. Anita says she went to the police but doesn’t believe they filed any official report. Zelaya was devastated and offered to help. Still, Anita refused to make the journey to the U.S. until her younger sister did it. Initially, Anita and Emily were detained in McAllen, and placed in a Department of Homeland Security facility with other apprehended minors. Soon they were flown to a nonprofit shelter in New York before finally reaching Zelaya. The first few nights after
Photo by Lynne Sladky | AP
Denia Zelaya, right, talks to a friend with her daughter Elise Zelaya, 5, who was born in the United States, at her home in Miami. Denia Zelaya has been reunited with her daughters from Honduras. Anita arrived, the girls and their mother cooked together with a quiet precision as if they’d been doing it all their lives. They convinced Zelaya to sleep with them in the small bedroom all five children shared. Two weeks later, Zelaya had returned to her room, and the three took turns cooking. Meanwhile, old re-
sentments remained. Ever since Elise and David were born, Anita had accused Zelaya of replacing her and Nicole with the new American children. “I try to explain to the older ones that the younger ones need protection because they are still little,” Zelaya said one day. “We do too,” Anita cut
in, only half in jest. Anita looks forward to starting school but worries about catching up with her peers. Zelaya tries not to burden her children with her own fears. Now she owes thousands of dollars to smugglers. She also knows that the legal path for her children will be far from easy.
Authorities nab man in transportation case By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A Mexican national was arrested in Zapata accused of transporting 15 illegal immigrants for money, according to court records obtained Monday. Enrique Carrillo-Narvaez is charged via criminal complaint with trans-
porting illegal immigrants with a motor vehicle for monetary gain, according to court records filed Friday. Carrillo-Narvaez remains in federal custody. U.S. Border Patrol agents observed a Ford F-350 parked in front of the Falcon Motel located in Zapata at about 8:30 a.m. Aug. 6. “The Falcon Motel is
known to be a staging location for human smuggling organizations,” the complaints state. Agents then observed the F-350 heading north on U.S. 83. No one was observed inside the vehicle but the driver. Agents lost visibility of the vehicle for moment when it turned onto Las Palmas Road. An
unmarked unit was able to regain visibility on the F-350. This time, the pickup’s bed was covered with a tarp. Agents were able to notice a silhouette of a person moving around the tarp. The driver sped away and then collided into the gate of the Escalon property, causing damage. When the
vehicle stopped, several people ran from the pickup and excaped into the surroundings. Agents detained Carrillo-Narvaez shortly after and apprehended 15 illegal immigrants — 14 Guatemalan citizens and 1 Ecuadorian citizen. Carrillo-Narvaez allegedly told Homeland Security
Investigations special agents that he had agreed to transport the immigrants to San Antonio for monetary gain. He added he worked for a human smuggler known as “Parajita,” according to court records. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
EDITORIAL
OTHER VIEWS
Response must be robust CHICAGO TRIBUNE
About a century ago, after World War I, British and French leaders carved up the Middle East and set the modern borders of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Now a growing force of Sunni extremists fighting under the banner of the Islamic State are creating a new nation in the same region — at gunpoint. Its boundaries are not yet set in ink on a map. But the jihadists have seized vast chunks of Syria and Iraq with a clear goal: Establish a new “caliphate,” an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader. Theirs would be a kingdom where justice is dispensed by bullet, blade and sheer savagery. For America this is a geopolitical crisis that threatens allies in the region. For people who live there this is an existential crisis that many of them cannot survive without more help from Western powers and Arab countries in the jihadists’ sights. In recent days, Islamic State jihadists chased off Kurdish peshmerga fighters with surprising ease. Now the insurgents have trapped 40,000 members of the Yazidi religious sect on Mount Sinjar, a barren mountaintop in northern Iraq. The assailants’ plan: Wait for the Yazidis to die of thirst or starvation, or to come down the mountain to be slaughtered. In response, President Barack Obama ordered humanitarian food drops and targeted airstrikes to break the militants’ stranglehold. He cited humanitarian reasons for returning U.S. warplanes to the skies over Iraq. The ordeal of the Yazidis illuminates a larger truth about the Islamic State. This isn’t a hit-and-run al-Qaida wannabe, shuffling about the deserts, seeking safe havens to plot terror. It is an efficient, battled-ready army that conquers and holds territory. It seeks to control strategic towns near oil fields and Iraqi border crossings with Syria, so it can ferry soldiers and supplies at will. And it rules with brutality. In Syria, Islamic State fighters hoisted the severed heads of Syrian soldiers on poles. The militants have posted videos of crucifixions and public executions. They executed dozens of Yazidi men and kept their wives for unmarried jihadists, The New York Times reports. The Islamic State is on the march across Iraq, Syria and even launching military incursions into Lebanon. Last week the militants seized a strategic Iraq dam that provides water and electricity to a wide swath of the country. They can now cut off the water and power or, as they have before, use water as a weapon by flooding homes and schools, forcing more to flee. The unthinkable — the fall of Baghdad — is now thinkable. All of this brings into focus the primary goal for the U.S. and its allies: Reverse the rampage of the Islamic State. End its state of siege. Relieve a fracturing Iraq. One way to do that: Give more and better weaponry to the best fighting force in Iraq, the peshmerga. Last week the Kurdish fighters attacked Islamic State forces near the Kurdish regional capital of Irbil, a welcome counteroffensive to break the Islamists’ momentum. For the first time, the Iraqi government says it will offer air support to Kurdish fighters. Smart move — and long overdue. Obama vows that U.S. soldiers won’t return to a combat role in Iraq. But that doesn’t mean the U.S. can order a few airstrikes, drop some food, and move on. “With Iran and Saudi Arabia locked in a proxy war in Syria, Saudi Arabia competing with Qatar and Turkey for influence throughout the region, and Kurds — themselves hardly united — leaning ever further toward independence, it is not realistic to expect a coherent strategy for confronting (the Islamic State) to emerge from the region,” Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group told The Times. “The U.S. has the clout and capacity to build partnerships capable of reversing (Islamic State) gains, but seems to lack the necessary vision and will.”’ We’ll see if that reluctance evolves to willingness as the threat grows. It should. Sending weapons to the Kurds does not pose the same risks as arming Syrian rebels battling Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Kurds can be trusted not to pass weapons to terrorists. They fight to defend their territory, not to enslave or kill those who don’t toe an extremist Islamic line. It is true that, someday, the Kurds could use U.S. weapons in a long-deferred bid for independence. But there won’t be an Iraq for the Kurds to gain independence from if the jihadists establish a de facto nation. A new map takes shape in the Middle East, one with a menacing power that imperils the lives of millions. It also imperils the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies across the region and beyond.
COLUMN
Legal pot worries two groups Police, doctors worry medical marijuana will hurt ‘business’ By FRANK CERABINO COX NEWSPAPERS
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s not surprising that both the Florida Sheriff ’s Association and the Florida Medical Association oppose legalizing medicinal marijuana. Expanding public access to legal marijuana is bad for business. Locking people up for minor drug offenses and maintaining a monopoly on the bountiful pain-relief industry are two aspects of the status quo that law enforcement and physician groups have an interest in maintaining. Sure, they dress up their concerns in different terms. But I don’t buy it. “The dangers of marijuana have been well documented in recent years with increased crime and traffic accidents in states that have passed legislation legalizing marijuana,” the Florida Sheriff ’s Association announced. “For example, of the 20 states with the highest driver acknowledgement of drugged driving, 15 were states that have passed legislation legalizing marijuana.” If that’s the case, then the effects of marijuana should be most evident in Colorado, the
first state to legalize it for recreational use. But the opposite appears to be happening there. When Colorado legalized possession of marijuana for adults, there was a 77-percent drop in marijuana drug offenses between 2012 and 2013, The Denver Post reported. The American Civil Liberties Union found that 60 percent of drug arrests in Colorado had been for marijuana possession, and that blacks were arrested at nearly double the rate of whites before the drug became legal. As for traffic safety, legalization of marijuana in Colorado has seemed to make the roads safer, not more dangerous. Unlike alcohol, marijuana can stay in a person’s system for as long as a month even though the state of inebriation lasts a matter of hours. So it’s difficult to equate the detection of marijuana with driving under its influence. This makes statistics on marijuana-related traffic crashes hard to measure accurately. It’s better to look at traffic fatalities in Colorado before and after legalization. If marijuana has made roads more dangerous, you’d expect to see more traffic fatalities in the state since legalization.
But that hasn’t been the case. The Colorado State Patrol reported that the number of fatal crashes in that state dropped by 25.5 percent from 2013 to 2014 during the first quarters of those years. And Radley Balko of The Washington Post looked at traffic fatalities in that state during the first seven months of every year over the past 13 years, and found that the roadway fatalities this year are lower than last year, and that both years are lower than the average over the past 13 years. Could it be that the switch from alcohol to marijuana has made the roads safer? That fewer people are tanking up on alcohol in bars and then getting on the roads in states where marijuana is a legal alternative? For reasons of control, the Florida physician’s group is against Amendment 2, the November ballot initiative that would allow marijuana to be used for pain relief to treat patients for debilitating diseases. “We have come together to reject an Amendment that does not have the proper regulations in place, approves an unsafe method of drug delivery and puts a substance that has drug
abuse potential in the hands of Floridians, if approved in November,” Florida Medical Association President Alan B. Pillersdorf, a Palm Beach Countybased plastic surgeon, said via statement. Doctors are the gate-keepers for a prescription-drug industry that dispenses pills for pain. It’s a business that’s abused by millions of people, killing about 150,000 of them a year, and costing health insurers about $72.5 billion a year to care for excess use, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What if people find safer, more effective pain relief from the legalized use of a plant, a plant that can be cultivated in the ground, rather than in a lab? A plant that kills no one from overdoses, but greatly affects the paved roads of influence built by the drug industry? So I’m not surprised that the Florida Sheriff ’s Association and the Florida Medical Association are in agreement on this issue. Whether you’re running a jail or a medical office, legalizing pot means fewer customers. Frank Cerabino writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: frank_cerabino@pbpost.com.
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Nation
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Rebuilt school has safe area New school replaces one destroyed by deadly tornado which killed 7 By KRISTI EATON ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOORE, Okla. — Students heading back to class next week at the rebuilt Plaza Towers Elementary in Oklahoma will see new fixtures as well as reminders of the resiliency the school and community showed after a tornado killed seven students last year. Plaza Towers was destroyed by the EF5 tornado on May 20, 2013 in Moore. Officials from the elementary school and Moore Public Schools led a media tour of the new building Tuesday. The price tag of the school was about $12 million, which insurance covered. “I don’t want to be ... a district that is remembered by May 20th,” said Michelle McNear, assistant superintendent for elementary education and instruction for Moore Public Schools. “We want
to be remembered as a district and a community as how we worked through it and the way we handled things.” A memorial dedicated to the seven students who were killed is expected to be completed in the fall. It will include silhouettes of seven children with personal touches such as a soccer ball to represent each child killed. The silhouettes will not have names, but the families will know which one represents their child based on the personal touches, McNear said. Seven benches outside the school also will represent the children. Moore Public Schools Superintendent Robert Romines said the memorial “is very symbolic to the students we lost.” The new brick building includes a designated Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency-approved safe area with four classrooms and a hallway where students can congregate when there’s severe weather. The classrooms are equipped with bathrooms, and the hallway has no windows — setups designed to prevent storm debris from flying and injuring students. The old Plaza Towers did not have a safe room. Students also will be welcomed by a large brick wall with a panther on it. Officials were able to salvage the panther wall from the old Plaza Towers and install it into the new building. Principal Patrick Chase said students chose the name “Paws” for the panther. “It’s probably my favorite feature of the building,” Chase said. The first day of school is Aug. 19.
Photo by Sue Ogrocki | AP
Pre-K teacher Erika Rowell points out the steel-beam reinforced wall in her classroom at the new Plaza Towers elementary school in Moore, Okla., on Tuesday.
Woman fights to clear record By LARRY NEUMEISTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A 98-yearold New Jersey woman convicted of conspiracy in the run-up to the atomic spy trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg asked a court Tuesday to clear her name, saying documents released in the last decade show the government withheld evidence that would have exonerated her. Miriam Moskowitz brought the legal action in Manhattan federal court seeking to vacate her 1950 conviction on charges she conspired to lie to a grand jury investigating allegations of atomic espionage. She was sentenced to two years in prison. In court papers, Moskowitz said she was working on a book about her case in 2010 when she spotted conflicts between the trial testi-
mony of a former colleague who testified against her and statements he made to the FBI that were read to the grand jury. She said she learned in March that she could ask the court to vacate her conviction. “The effects of my conviction have had, and continue to have, profound effects on my life,” the of Washington Township, New Jersey woman said. “For decades after my incarceration, I felt I had to avoid attention and keep a low social profile with new friends, and experienced shame in certain interactions within the community.” Moskowitz noted, for example, that the rabbi at her synagogue once gave a damning sermon about atomic espionage on the eve of Yom Kippur, and shunned her when she approached him after the service. “The entire course of my
life has been affected by my felony conviction,” she said. “I never married or had children, in part because, for decades after my conviction, I found it painful to reveal my past. After my release from prison, FBI agents repeatedly harassed me at my workplace, making it impossible for me to keep a job.” In court papers, Moskowitz’s lawyers say they learned that the government withheld critical evidence for nearly 60 years when a federal judge in 2008 ordered the release of key secret grand jury testimony in the Rosenberg spy trial. The lawyers say FBI and grand jury statements made by Harry Gold — the key government witness against her — were withheld from the defense. The Rosenbergs were convicted of passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Sovi-
et Union and were executed in 1953. Since, decoded Soviet cables have appeared to confirm that Julius Rosenberg was a spy, but doubts have remained about Ethel Rosenberg’s involvement. In 1947, Abraham Brothman and his associate, Gold, were questioned by the FBI about allegations they were involved in atomic espionage, the court papers said. Moskowitz then worked as Brothman’s secretary and was having an affair with him, the papers said. Moskowitz’s lawyers say Gold repeatedly told the FBI that Moskowitz was unaware of Gold and Brothman’s plan to lie before the grand jury until the government threatened him with the death penalty. They say he then cooperated and testified against Moskowitz at trial, saying she was there when they discussed their perjury plans.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
HS VOLLEYBALL: ZAPATA
Scandrick suspended
Lady Hawks open season in Laredo
Cowboys CB out 4 games
Zapata loses to Nixon, St. Augustine on opening day
By JOSH DUBOW By CLARA SANDOVAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE ZAPATA TIMES
OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick blamed his positive drug test that led to a fourgame suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs on a recreational drug he took in Mexico that he didn’t know contained an amphetamine. Scandrick took the blame for the error Tuesday and apologized to his family, teammates and organization for the mistake that will force him to miss the first month of the season. “It was just a bad decision,” he said. “I should have never done it. I didn’t do it with the intent of knowing it would test positive. I know we get random tests but I don’t take anything to enhance my performance. I wasn’t taking anything to enhance my performance.” Scandrick tested positive in April but appealed the penalty. The suspension was upheld Monday and the league officially announced the suspension on Tuesday. Scandrick apologized to his teammates Monday night and said he appreciated the support he got from them. “We’re here for each other,” Scandrick said. “I just let them know that I was sorry and that if they can learn anything from this, it’s you need to do all the right things even when no one is looking or you don’t think anyone is looking.” Scandrick’s agent, Ron Slavin, says he believes that if testing for human growth hormone was in place that Scandrick would have been subjected to the substance abuse policy and been warned instead of receiving a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. “More than 80 missed games, millions of dollars in fines and bonus repayments have been issued because the NFLPA and NFL cannot come to an agreement,” Slavin said in a statement. “The only people who are losing in this standoff are the players and fans.”
File photo by Tony Avelar | AP
Dallas defensive back Orlando Scandrick (32) was suspended four games by the NFL for PED use. This is just the latest hit to a defense that allowed the most yards in the NFL last season. Linebacker Sean Lee is out for the season after tearing a left knee ligament in the offseason, defensive end Anthony Spencer is still working his way back from knee surgery and franchise career sack leader DeMarcus Ware was released in March. The Cowboys have known for some time that Scandrick was facing the ban and coach Jason Garrett said the team will miss Scandrick’s versatility as an outside and slot cornerback and his leadership. “He brings a great spirit to our team,” Garrett said. “He plays the right way. Not to have him for the first four games will impact us. Like with an injury it’s the kind of situation that provides an opportunity. We have some
young corners who are going to vie for his role in the early part of the season.” Scandrick, who is going into his seventh season, became a starter last year when former top 10 pick Morris Claiborne struggled. Now Claiborne is battling tendinitis in his right knee and missed the preseason opener for the third time in his three seasons in Dallas. Brandon Carr, the other starter, missed the first two weeks of camp to be with his mother in the final days of her battle against breast cancer. He might only play one preseason game but is expected to be ready for the regular season. Carr and Claiborne are expected to start on the outside with Sterling Moore, B.W. Webb and rookie Terrance Mitchell expected to get looks as the slot cornerback in
nickel formations. “It’s definitely big shoes to fill,” Moore said. “He’s one of the premier inside corners in this league. I’m definitely going to come to him for some advice and tips that he has. He’s played there for a long time. But it’s next man up and they expect no drop-off.” Scandrick will be eligible to participate in exhibition games but will miss the first four games of the regular season. He can return after Dallas’ game against New Orleans on Sept. 28. Garrett said he will try to get Scandrick as much work as possible before the end of the exhibition season to make sure he is not too rusty when he returns. But the Cowboys also need to make sure that the other cornerbacks get enough practice time to be ready for the start of the season.
LAREDO - The high school volleyball season officially got underway as the Lady Hawks hit the road to take on Laredo Nixon and Laredo St. Augustine in a tri match at the St. Augustine Wellness Center Monday afternoon. The Lady Hawks dropped both of their games as they fell to Laredo Nixon and Laredo St. Augustine to start the season 0-2. Zapata had to hit the court without head coach Rosie Villarreal, who was out and the reigns were handed over to varsity assistant Mario Benavides. Zapata started off on the right foot in each of its games, taking the first set. But each time could not sustain that momentum for the entire duration as they sputtered when sets became close down the stretch. In the opening game, Zapata fell to Nixon 27-25, 14-25, 19-25 and 16-25. The Lady Hawks had a hard time rebounding from the loss and dropped the second game of the tri-match to St. Augustine 2520, 24-26, 25-27 and 24-26. "The difference was the communication part," Benavides said. "You can tell that they know what they are doing but they just don’t talk. Once the communications get there we are going to be where we need to be as a team." Zapata played sporadic and couldn’t nail down its offensive rhythm, something which they are known for around the district. The Lady Hawks fought tooth and nail against Nixon to take the first set at 27-25, but the Lady Mustangs were able to come back and rolled off three straight sets for the victory. Against St. Augustine, Zapata was able to shake off the Lady Knights late in the first set after a 16all deadlock for a 25-20 win. In the second set, the same scenario played out early in the set but it was Zapata which really started to pound the ball with the likes of Alexiss Alvarez and Cassy Garcia to take a 22-14 lead. Things went sour after that point as Zapata had a hard time containing St. Augustine’s servers, which found the holes in the Lady Hawks service receive. St. Augustine started to chip away at the lead and went on a 2-1 run to start reeling in ZHS. The Lady Knights went on to roll off eight straight points to take the second set 26-24 and even things up at one apiece. In the next two sets, Zapata was taken to the brink after holding healthy lead which they did not sustain when things got tight at the net. Zapata held a 25-24 edge and was not able to score the final point for the victory. They had to watch the momentum shift in the favor of St. Augustine, which rolled off three straight points by Rebecca Barrera. "At some points of the game we looked great on offense, but the defense was not there to back it up," Benavides said. "At other points the defense came up with some big plays and the offense did not put the ball down." Zapata continues the season today as it heads out to their second tri-match of the week when the Lady Hawks take on San Diego and Freer. Clara Sandoval can be reached at Sandoval.Clara@Gmail.com.
International
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Syrian Kurdish fighters save stranded Yazidis Refugees see fighters as heroes for opening escape routes By DIAA HADID AND BASSEM MROUE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MALIKIYA, Syria — In a dusty camp here, Iraqi refugees have new heroes: Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled militants to carve out an escape route for tens of thousands trapped on a mountaintop. While the U.S. and Iraqi militaries struggle to aid the starving members of Iraq’s Yazidi minority with supply drops from the air, the Syrian Kurds took it on themselves to rescue them. The move underlined how they — like Iraqi Kurds — are using the region’s conflicts to establish their own rule. For the past few days, fighters have been rescuing Yazidis from the mountain, transporting them into Syrian territory to give them first aid, food and water, and returning some to Iraq via a pontoon bridge. The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority who follow an ancient Mesopotamian faith, started to flee to the Sinjar mountain chain on Aug. 2, when militants from the extremist Islamic State group took over their nearby villages. The militants see them as heretics worthy of death. “The (Kurdish fighters) opened a path for us. If they had not, we would still be stranded on the mountain,” said Ismail Rashu, 22, in the Newroz camp in the Syrian Kurdish town of Malikiya some 20 miles from the Iraqi border. Families had filled the battered, dusty tents here and new arrivals sat in the shade of rocks, sleeping on blue plastic sheets. Camp officials estimated that at least 2,000 families sought shelter there on Sunday evening. Nearby, an exhausted woman rocked a baby to sleep. Another sobbed that she abandoned her elderly uncle in their village of Zouraba; he was too weak to walk, too heavy to carry. Many said they hadn’t eaten for days on the mountain; their
Photo by Khalid Mohammed | AP
Displaced Yazidis arrive at Nowruz camp, in Derike, Syria, on Tuesday. In the camps, Iraqi refugees have new heroes: Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled militants to carve an escape route for tens of thousands trapped on a mountaintop.
For the past few days, fighters have been rescuing Yazidis from the mountain, transporting them into Syrian territory to give them first aid, food and water. lips were cracked from dehydration and heat, their feet swollen and blackened from walking. Some elderly, disabled and young children were left behind. Others were still walking to where Syrian Kurds were rescuing them, they said. “We are thankful, from our heads to the sky, to the last day on earth,” said Naji Hassan, a Yazidi at the Tigris river border crossing, where thousands of rescued Yazidis were heading back into Iraq on Sunday. The U.N. estimated around
50,000 Yazidis fled to the mountain. But by Sunday, Kurdish officials said at least 45,000 had crossed through the safe passage, leaving thousands more behind and suggesting the number of stranded was higher. Syrian Kurds have carved out effective self-rule in the northeastern corner of Syria where they make up the majority. But while members of the ethnic group in both Iraq and Syria pursue their destiny, the two communities are divided by political splits.
Iraq’s Kurds, who have managed a self-rule territory for over two decades, are dominated by factions that have built up strong ties with neighboring Turkey. Syria’s Kurds, however, are closer to longtime Turkish Kurdish rebels and until the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad were firmly under his control. Syrian Kurdish officials said soon after Yazidis fled their villages, they began fighting to create a safe passage. They clashed with Islamic State fight-
ers upon entering Iraq, losing at least nine fighters, but by Aug. 7 had secured a safe valley passage, cramming Yazidis into jeeps, trucks and cars to bring them some 25 miles away. Some of the ill were even rushed to hospital. “We answered their cries for help. They were in danger and we opened a safe passage for them into safety,” said military official Omar Ali. “We saw that we had to help them and protect them; they are Kurds and part of our nation.” In saving Yazidis, Syrian Kurds were also demonstrating their own ambitions for independence as Syria’s civil war rages on. They announced their autonomous area of Rojava in January, and rule several far northeastern Kurdish areas of Syria. Government forces stationed in the area were redeployed over two years ago to battle rebels seeking Assad’s overthrow, Syrian Kurdish officials said. But in entering Iraq, the Syrian fighters are also challenging their Iraqi Kurdish rivals. They say they entered after the Iraqi Kurdish fighting force, called the peshmerga, fled Yazidi villages after short battles with Islamic militants. The peshmerga say they were outgunned by the militants. The U.S. has since assisted the peshmerga fighters with airstrikes, and on Tuesday, a U.S. drone strike destroyed a militant mortar position threatening Kurdish forces defending refugees near the Syrian border. A day earlier, the U.S. said it would provide more weapons directly to Kurdish forces, but it was unclear what materiel was under consideration. Later Tuesday, the Iraqi military said a helicopter delivering aid to the displaced had crashed. For now, with the peshmerga gone and state aid ineffective, the Yazidis who survived the mountaintop ordeal were counting on the Syrian Kurdish fighters. Covered in dust among crowds at the Tigris crossing, Hassan said without the fighters all would have been lost. “Were it not for them, no Yazidi would be saved,” he said.
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera Perderían seguro
MIÉRCOLES 13 DE AGOSTO DE 2014
NACIONAL
Agenda en Breve LAREDO
08/13— El Departamento de Salud de la Ciudad de Laredo y el Programa WIC celebran el Mes Mundial de la Lactancia Materna con la ‘Mother Baby Expo 2014’ (Expo Madre-Bebé), el miércoles de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en la Sala de Usos Múltiples HE-B, de la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road. 08/13— Back to School Blues, en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road, de 2:30 p.m. a 4:30 p.m. El tema de hoy será “El Carnaval” con pinta-caritas; globos en forma de animales y palomitas de maíz gratis. 08/13— La estrella de la música latina Prince Royce presenta su gira “Soy El Mismo Tour”, en Laredo Energy Arena, a las 8 p.m. El costo del boleto varía de 51 dólares, 71, 91 y 129, con la cuota de instalaciones incluida. Compre su boleto en Ticketmaster o la taquilla del LEA. Habrá paquetes VIP disponibles. 08/14— Back to School Blues, en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road, de 2:30 p.m. a 4:30 p.m. El tema de hoy será en base al libro “Si Das Una Galleta a un Ratón”, de Laura Numeroff con una lectura de la historia, canciones, decoración de galletas, entre otras cosas. 08/14— Operación Recepción para “The Dream Continues”, una exhibición que celebra el 120 aniversrio de las Hermanas de la Misericordia, dentro del Museo Villa Antigua Border Heritage, ubicado en 810 de calle Zaragoza, de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. 08/14— Espectáculo de Estrellas en Vivo, de 7 p.m. a 8 p.m. en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU. Costo de admisión 3 dólares. 08/15— El Centro para Veteranos de Laredo y el Centro Móvil para Veteranos de San Antonio invita a la Feria Informativa para Veteranos de 10 a.m. a 3:30 p.m. en el North Town Professional Plaza (Laredo Vet Center – Suite 102), 6999 McPherson Road. Para más información, llamar al (956) 723-4680. 08/15— Back to School Blues, en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road, de 2:30 p.m. a 4:30 p.m. Los niños tendrán la oportunidad de hacer una máscara y una capa, además de escuchar libros acerca de hérores.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 08/13— Cine Club presenta “La Noche de las Chicas” a las 6 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra. Entrada libre. 08/14— Jueves de Teatro presenta “Ponshow”, un espectáculo clown, a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de Casa de la Cultura. Costo: 20 pesos. 08/15— Charla sobre Octavio Paz, a cargo de Danubio Torres Fierro, a las 7 p.m. en Estación Palabra. 08/16— Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte” a las 10 a.m.; “Te Leo a la Una” a la 1 p.m.; “Festival Infantil” a las 2 p.m. Entrada gratuita. 08/16— Inauguración de Exposición de Arte de Miriam Castro, a las 12 p.m. en Maquila Creativa. 08/16— En celebración del Día Internacional de la Juventud, se llevará a cabo el #JUVEFEST 2014, en el Polyforum La Fe, a partir de las 3 p.m. Habrá varios espectáculos, incluyendo la presentación de grupos musicales en vivo, exposiciones de cultura y tecnología, conferencia para emprendedores y rifa de regalos, entre otras actividades.
Personas sin estatus migratorio resuelto serían afectadas POR RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Cientos de miles de personas que se anotaron para el plan de salud creado por la nueva ley podrían perder su seguro si no resuelven rápidamente las interrogantes sobre su estatus inmigratorio o de ciudadanía. El gobierno advierte que el plazo para demostrar que uno es elegible vence el 5 de septiembre. De los 8 millones de personas que se anotaron para recibir cobertura privada bajo la ley sancionada por el presidente Barack Obama, más de 2 millones tenían en deter-
minado momento algún tipo de discrepancia que podía afectar su aptitud. Esa cifra se ha reducido enormemente, pero los casos restantes resultan difíciles de resolver. Funcionarios en el Departamento de Salud dijeron que están enviando cartas a las 310.000 personas que tienen problemas de ciudadanía o estatus inmigratorio, muchas de las cuales no han respondido a mensajes anteriores. En mayo había 970.000 personas con esta clase de problemas. Pero la mayoría de esos casos fueron resueltos o están en vías de solucionarse. Las cartas advertirán a los usua-
rios restantes que deben descargar sus documentos en HealthCare.gov o enviarlos por correo. Caso contrario, perderán su cobertura el 30 de septiembre. Las cartas están redactadas en inglés y español. La nueva política afecta los 36 estados donde el gobierno federal ha encabezado el manejo de mercados de seguros por internet creados bajo la ley. No está claro qué sucederá en estados como California y Nueva York, que tienen sus propios mercados. Los usuarios que tienen discrepancias no resueltas con sus ingresos recibirán avisos más adelante.
La nueva ley brinda cobertura de salud subsidiada a quienes no tienen acceso a seguro de salud a través del trabajo. Más del 80% de los usuarios reciben subsidios para pagar sus primas, y en algunos casos la parte que deben abonar de su atención médica y medicamentos. Pero esos subsidios pagados por los contribuyentes dependen de una multitud de requisitos. Los inmigrantes en situación ilegal no pueden recibir cobertura. Y el monto del crédito impositivo para pagar la prima varía por ingresos, tamaño de la familia, lugar de residencia y otros factores.
SEGURIDAD
USDA
FORMAN POLICÍAS
Prolongan inscripción a ELAP ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Alrededor de 175 jóvenes comenzaron con el curso Inicial de Formación para la Nueva Policía de Tamaulipas. La bienvenida fue por parte del General Arturo Gutiérrez García, Secretario de Seguridad Pública en Tamaulipas.
Más de 175 recibirán entrenamiento TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
E
l lunes, alrededor de 175 jóvenes dieron comienzo al curso Inicial de Formación para la Nueva Policía del vecino Estado tamaulipeco, en el Auditorio del Instituto de Reclutamiento y Formación Policial de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, en Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, donde se les dio la bienvenida. “En Tamaulipas estamos buscando policías con una nueva mentalidad, con una nueva forma de pensar y de actuar, esa es la meta”, dijo
el General Arturo Gutiérrez García, Secretario de Seguridad Pública en Tamaulipas. Los jóvenes son procedentes de diferentes estados de la República, tales como Oaxaca, Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Chiapas, Nuevo León, Tabasco y Campeche, México, así como de diferentes municipios tamaulipecos, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa. “A partir de ahora trabajaremos junto con ustedes para formar una nueva generación de policías altamente capacitados y con valores fortalecidos que permitan
una verdadera transformación de la seguridad pública”, sostuvo Gutiérrez García. La capacitación y adiestramiento tendrán una duración de 14 semanas (del 11 de agosto al 17 de noviembre), tiempo durante el cual recibirán beca mensual de 5.000 pesos, alimentación, alojamiento y Seguro Popular Gratuito. Para más información sobre el curso puede llamar al 01800-122-2336 o consultar la página http://ssp.tamaulipas.gob.mx/policiaacreditable.html.
La fecha límite para la inscripción para el Programa de Asistencia de Emergencia para el Ganado, Abejas y Criadero de Pescado en Granjas (ELAP, por sus siglas en inglés) se ha extendido al viernes 15 de agosto, anunció el Departamento de Agricultura de EU (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Agencia de Servicios Agrícolas (FSA, por sus siglas en inglés), la semana pasada. El nuevo plazo da a los productores de ganado, abejas, y criaderos de peses que han experimentado pérdidas a causa de enfermedades, el mal tiempo, incendios forestales o trastornos por el colapso de colonias entre 1 de octubre de 2011 y el 30 de septiembre de 2013, dos semanas adicionales para inscribirse en ELAP. “Porque ELAP es una importante red de seguridad para los sectores clave de la agricultura estadounidense, le ofrecemos esta extensión de dos semana para que los productores puedan presentar la documentación requerida y solicitar los beneficios del programa” dijo Juan M. Garcia, administrador para FSA. Se anima a los productores a ponerse en
contacto con su centro de servicio local de la FSA o visite el sitio web de la FSA en www.fsa.usda.gov para obtener información adicional con respecto a ELAP. ELAP fue autorizado por la Propuesta de Ley Agrícola 2014, que se basa en las ganancias económicas históricas en los sectores rurales de EU en los últimos cinco años, con la cual se logró una reforma significativa y miles de millones de dólares en ahorros para los contribuyentes. Desde su promulgación, USDA ha tenido progresos significativos para aplicar cada disposición de esta legislación, incluyendo la provisión de ayuda humanitaria a los agricultores y ganaderos; el fortalecimiento de las herramientas de gestión de riesgos; la ampliación del acceso al crédito rural; financiamiento de la investigación fundamental; el establecimiento de asociaciones público-privadas para la conservación; el desarrollo de nuevos mercados para productos rurales; y la inversión en infraestructura, vivienda y en a la comunidad, para ayudar a mejorar la calidad de vida en los sectores rurales. Para más información puede visitar www.usda.gov/farmbill.
TAMAULIPAS
Acuerdan realizar Cruzada contra hambre ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El viernes, entidades gubernamentales estructuraron comité para Cruzada Nacional Contra el Hambre en la Ciudad de Nuevo Laredo, México, a través de la forma de acuerdos cuya finalidad es realizar acciones coordinadas para la mejor instrumentación de la cruzada. La Cruzada pretende servir a 15 municipalidades del Estado de Tamaulipas, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa emitido por el municipio de Nuevo Laredo. La Cruzada tiene como objetivo erradicar el hambre mediante una alimentación y nutrición adecuada de las personas en pobreza extrema, así como eliminar la desnutrición infantil aguda y mejorar los indicadores de peso y talla en la niñez, señala un comunicado de prensa. “Busca aumentar la producción de alimentos y el ingreso económico de los campesinos y pequeños productores agrícolas, así como
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo
Carlos Solís Gómez, secretario de Desarrollo Rural en Tamaulipas; Carlos Canturosas Villarreal, Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, México; y Edgardo Melhem Salinas, Secretaría de SEDESOL, junto a otras autoridades, durante la firma de acuerdos para la Cruzada Nacional Contra el Hambre. minimizar las pérdidas post-cosechas y de alimentos durante su transporte, distribución y comercialización”, añade el comunicado.
La meta de esta acción es apoyar a 70.1 millones de personas en pobreza extrema, e inicia focalizando las acciones en 400 munici-
pios y localidades en México. La primera etapa de la Cruzada involucra a los municipios tamaulipecos de Altamira, Matamoros y Reynosa, México. Mientras que en la segunda etapa se incluirá a 12 municipios, entre los que destacan Nuevo Laredo, Mier, Guerrero, Camargo, Tampico y Victoria, México. Entre los involucrados en la firma de acuerdos estuvieron el presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, Carlos Canturosas Villarreal, delegado estatal de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL) Federal, Edgardo Melhem Salinas, y Carlos Solís Gómez, secretario de Desarrollo Rural en Tamaulipas. “Es importante para este gobierno municipal sumar esfuerzos con autoridades de otros niveles, para procurar el bienestar de los neolaredenses, por eso nos da mucho gusto poder llegar a estos acuerdos en favor de la población más vulnerable”, señaló Canturosas.
Entertainment
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Official: Williams used belt to hang himself By PAUL ELIAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Authorities on Tuesday detailed how Robin Williams’ took his life, saying the actor and comedian hanged himself with a belt in a bedroom of his San Francisco Bay Area home. Marin County Sheriff ’s Lt. Keith Boyd said Williams was last seen alive by his wife Sunday night when she went to bed. She woke up the next morning and left, thinking he was still asleep elsewhere in the home. Shortly after that, Williams’ personal assistant came to the Tiburon home and became concerned when Williams failed to respond to knocks at a door. The assistant found the 63year-old actor clothed and dead in a bedroom. Boyd said all evidence indicates Williams, star of “Good Will Hunting,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Good Morning, Vietnam” and dozens of other films, committed suicide by hanging himself. But he said a final ruling will be made once toxicology reports and interviews with witnesses are complete. The condition of the body indicated Williams had been dead for at least a few hours, Boyd said. Williams also had superficial cuts on his wrist, and a pocketknife was found nearby. Williams had been seeking treatment for depression, Boyd said. He would not say whether the actor left a suicide note. “We still have people we want to speak with so there is some information we’re going to withhold,” Boyd said. “We’re not discussing the note or a note at this point as the investigation is ongoing.” It was no secret that the Oscar-winning actor for years had dealt with periodic bouts of substance abuse and depression — he made reference to it in his come-
dy routines. Just last month, Williams announced he was returning to a 12step treatment program. When he sought treatment in 2006 after a relapse that followed 20 years of sobriety, he joked about falling off the wagon: “I went to rehab in wine country to keep my options open.” Likewise, when word spread about his struggles with drugs in the early 1980s, Williams responded with a joke that for a time became a catchphrase for his generation’s recreational drug use: “Cocaine is God’s way of telling you you are making too much money.” Word that the actor had killed himself left neighbors in Tiburon equally stunned and grief-stricken. Williams had lived in the quiet, waterfront neighborhood for eight years, according to
neighbors. Noreen Nieder said Williams was a friendly neighbor who always said hello and engaged in small talk. Nieder said she wasn’t close to Williams and his family, but she still felt comfortable enough to approach him and ask him about his latest stint in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. “He was very open about it,” Nieder said. “He told me he was doing well.” Makeshift memorials of flowers and notes popped up around the country including on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at his Tiburon home and outside the house where the ’80s sitcom “Mork &Mindy” was set in Boulder, Colorado. People also remembered the actor at a bench in Boston’s Public Garden where he filmed a scene for “Good Will Hunting.”
Photo by Reed Saxon/file | AP
Actor and comedian Robin Williams poses in Santa Monica, Calif. Williams, whose free-form comedy and adept impressions dazzled audiences for decades, died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
Fires in the northwest Authorities blame lightning for more new fires By JEFF BARNARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Hatem Moussa | AP
A Palestinian searches the rubble of his home for salvageable items, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, on Monday. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire halting the Gaza war held into Tuesday evening.
Truce talks progress By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO — Israeli and Hamas negotiators huddled for a second day of Egyptian-mediated talks Tuesday, seeking a formula for an extended cease-fire meant to end a monthlong war and bring relief to the embattled Gaza Strip. With the talks continuing well into the evening, it was unclear whether the two enemies had made any progress as a temporary truce expires midnight Wednesday. The negotiations took place after a three-day truce brokered by Egypt took effect Monday. A similar truce collapsed last Friday after Gaza militants quickly resumed rocket fire with its expiration. The monthlong Gaza war has killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, Palestinian and U.N. officials say. In Israel, 67 people have been killed, all but three of them soldiers. Hamas is demanding an end to an Israel-Egyptian blockade that has ravaged Gaza’s economy. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets into Israel during the war, from smuggling weapons. Israel is seeking guarantees that it disarm. With the truce set to expire, Egypt pressed the sides hard to reach a deal. “The talks are difficult but serious,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, head of the Hamas delegation, wrote on his Facebook page. “The delegation needs to achieve the hopes of the people.” Hamas, shunned by the international community as a terrorist organization, seized control of Gaza from internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Any deal will almost certainly include an increased role by Abbas. The Palestinian leader recently formed a unity government backed by Hamas, ostensibly put-
ting him in charge of Gaza. But in reality, Hamas, with its thousands of fighters and arsenal of rockets, remains the real power. Another member of the Palestinian delegation reported some progress, saying Israel had offered a number of gestures aimed at improving life for Gaza’s 1.8 million residents. They included an increase in the number of trucks permitted to deliver goods into the territory from Israel each day, and the transfer of funds by Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to Hamas-affiliated government employees in Gaza. The cash-strapped Hamas has been unable to pay the salaries of its employees for months. Also included in the purported Israeli package, the official said, was an eventual quadrupling — to 12 miles (19 kilometers) — of the sea area in which Gaza fishing vessels are permitted to operate. But the official said Israel was linking progress on the Palestinians’ biggest demands — to reopen the territory’s sea and airport — to Hamas disarming. The group has rejected this demand. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing ongoing negotiations. Palestinian officials said they were open to extending the talks if progress was being made. Israeli officials declined comment on the negotiations. But in a possible sign of progress, the Ynet website said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been speaking to senior Cabinet ministers about an emerging agreement. It said the deal would include a softening of the blockade to allow the entry of construction materials for rebuilding Gaza under strict international supervision. Israel has limited the flow of goods like concrete and metal, saying Hamas would use them for military use. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said he did not
know if there would be a deal by Wednesday night’s deadline, and warned that fighting could resume. “I don’t know if we should extend negotiations. It could be that fire erupts again,” he said. “We must be on alert and ready all the time.” The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva this week formed a commission to look into possible war crimes violations during the Gaza fighting. Israel has not said whether it will cooperate with the investigation. But the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it believes the commission, and its chief investigator, Canadian law professor William Schabas, are biased against Israel. In a television interview, Schabas said he wouldn’t let his history of criticizing Israeli leaders affect his ability to carry out the investigation. “What someone who sits in a commission or who is a judge has to be able to do is put these things behind them and start fresh and this is what I intend to do,” he told Israel’s Channel 2 TV. He would not say whether he would investigate Hamas’ actions. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the commission a “kangaroo court” whose verdict is “known ahead of time.” Meanwhile, the world’s largest bloc of Islamic nations called for an international donors conference for Gaza. The 56-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation also expressed its disappointment at the failure of the U.N. Security Council “to assume its responsibilities” of maintaining peace and security. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal said his country would work with other donors to finance $500 million for the reconstruction of houses and facilities in Gaza. He did not elaborate. Officials have said at least $6 billion is needed.
Subway performers Complaints about law enforcement on trains, in stations By JENNIFER PELTZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Subway acrobats, dancers and musicians on Tuesday decried what they said was heavyhanded policing, gathering outside City Hall to join critics of a police clampdown on minor offenses. One activist suggested a temporary halt to subway performer arrests, which have spiked this year as officers zeroed in on minor crimes to set a tone of not tolerating lawlessness. But several performers said they just hope to arrange a way to perform without fearing arrest. “We dance. We sing. We’re not criminals. ... We shouldn’t really get locked up for showing our talent,” said Zenon “Tito” Laguerre, a 34-year-old construction worker and subway acrobat who said he was arrested last week. The police department had no immediate response to the performers’ complaints. Mayor Bill de Blasio said last month that subway stunts may not seem like big offenses, “but breaking the law is break-
ing the law.” Transit rules generally allow performing for tips in parts of subway stations, but not in trains or with amplifiers, unless artists have permits. More than 240 subway performers have been arrested so far this year, about four times as many as during the same period last year, according to police statistics. Some subway riders see the performers as part of the city’s anything-goes artistic environment. But others roll their eyes at hearing “it’s showtime!” on hectic commutes. Police also say subway dancing can be dangerous, though no injuries have been reported. The rise in arrests dovetails with Police Commissioner William Bratton’s embrace of the “broken windows” theory of policing, which holds that putting up with small-time law-breaking can foster more dangerous crime. The approach has come under scrutiny since an officer used a chokehold last month in confronting a man suspected of selling
untaxed cigarettes; he died after gasping “I can’t breathe!” Bratton noted Tuesday on WNYC-FM’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” that most major crime has dropped in the city this year — although shootings have risen — and that smaller, quality-of-life offenses are offenses nonetheless. “If people would obey the law, then they would not draw the attention of the police,” he said. Some subway performers who comply with the rules still get arrested or told to leave, said Matthew Christian, a violinist who spearheads an advocacy group called BuskNY. Other subway performers acknowledge they’ve broken the rules but say police should focus on crime, not on what the buskers see as entertainment and entrepreneurship. “This is New York City culture,” says Andrew “Goofy” Saunders, a 20year-old acrobat who has stopped performing on trains amid the crackdown. “It shouldn’t be pushed away. It should be embraced.”
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Lightning has started dozens of new wildfires in the Northwest, forcing incident commanders to juggle crews and equipment Tuesday as a new round of storms approached. Meanwhile, three firefighters who deployed emergency shelters when a thunderstorm whipped up the flames of a Northern California blaze were released unhurt from a hospital Tuesday, but they weren’t yet back on the fire line. Corey Wilford, a spokesman for what’s been dubbed the Beaver Fire, said there was no immediate word whether an investigation will be conducted, but they are usual in cases like this. The firefighters’ names were not released. Red Flag warnings for hot, dry winds remained in effect in the mountainous area of Siskiyou County, about 15 miles northwest of Yreka. About 150 rural homes have been evacuated. The fire was 30 percent contained after burning across 44 square miles of the Klamath National Forest north of the Klamath River. At a news conference at a fire coordination center in Redding, California, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell called on Congress to enact legislation allowing federal disaster funds to be spent on the biggest wildfires, and CalFire Chief Ken Pimlott said three years of drought have contributed to explosive fire conditions across Northern California. Pimlott noted that on Friday, eight firefighters in Mendocino County suffered minor burns when they had to retreat to a safety zone. “The difference we are
Photo by Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat | AP
The Toulomne-Calavaras Cal Fire Unit and an inmate crew work on setting a holding line to the oncoming fire at the northeast corner of the Lodge Complex Fire, north of Laytonville, Calif. on Monday. seeing is how quickly the fires are growing once they start,” he said. “Every afternoon like clockwork, these fires are almost explosive.” President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration Monday for Washington state, where hundreds of homes have burned in wildfires in the past month. It orders federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation, and says federal funding also is available for hazard mitigation. The Northwest Incident Coordination Center in Portland has reported more than 5,000 lightning strikes across Oregon and Washington, starting 68 new fires covering 13 square miles. More lightning was on the way, but this time more rain is expected. The storms were predicted to move out of the region by Thursday. The two biggest fires were grass fires in eastern Oregon’s Gilliam County. One was 10 miles north of Condon, and the other was 8 miles west of Arlington. Spokeswoman Carol Connolly said the Northwest remains the nation’s top wildfire priority, but some crews and equipment fighting Oregon’s 11 existing large fires were being sent to the new fires. Existing large fires have burned across 220 square
miles of timber, brush and grass, stretching from the California border, north through the Cascades, and east through the Columbia Gorge and central Oregon to the Idaho border. More lightning was forecast Tuesday and Wednesday. As the current storm system moved northwest and out of Oregon, a wetter system was expected to enter southwestern Oregon and move across the Cascades into the central and northeastern parts of the state. In Northern California, there were more evacuations of remote rural homes about 25 miles southwest of Yreka, and shelters were set up in Fort Jones and Scott Valley. The fires there, called the July Complex, were 29 percent contained after burning 26 square miles. In Washington, a new lightning-caused fire about 30 miles northwest of Olympia at Haven Lake grew to nearly 300 acres since it began Monday in private timberlands. It was not threatening any structures. Firefighters were starting to get a handle on other wildfires burning across the state, although some were still growing. Several lightning caused fires in central Washington remained active, including the Devil’s Elbow Complex, which had grown to nearly 32 square miles in northcentral Washington.
Russia helps rebels Ukraine: Russian aid can enter with Red Cross By PETER LEONARD AND VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — With a theatrical flourish, Russia on Tuesday dispatched hundreds of trucks covered in white tarps and sprinkled with holy water on a mission to deliver aid to a desperate rebel-held zone in eastern Ukraine. The televised sight of the miles-long convoy sparked indignation from the government in Kiev, which insisted any aid must be delivered by the international Red Cross. Ukraine and the West have openly expressed its concern that Moscow intends to use the cover of a humanitarian operation to embark on a military incursion in support of proRussian separatists. Amid those anxieties, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday was set to travel to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed in March, where he was to preside over a meeting involving the entire Russian Cabinet and most members of the lower house of parliament. Putin so far has resisted calls from both pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine and nationalists at home to send Russian troops to back the mutiny, a move that would be certain to trigger devastating Western sanctions. But dispatching the convoy sent a powerful visual symbol helping the Kremlin counter criticism from the nationalists who accuse Putin of betrayal. The convoy provoked controversy as soon as it started moving Tuesday
Photo by Efrem Lukatsky | AP
Activists throw water over lawmakers as they demonstrate to demand sanctions against Russia, on Tuesday. from Moscow on its long voyage toward the Ukrainian border. Officials with both the International Committee of the Red Cross and Ukraine’s government said they had no information about what the trucks were carrying or where they were headed. A Ukrainian security spokesman said the convoy of white-canvased vehicles was being managed by the Russian army and could not as a result be allowed into the country. Moscow has rejected the claim, saying that the convoy is organized by the Emergencies Ministry, a non-military agency dealing with humanitarian relief tasks. The government in Kiev said the Russian trucks could unload their contents at the border and transfer the aid to vehicles leased by the ICRC. U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said talks are under way for Russia to deliver the aid to the Ukrainian border where it would be transferred to the custody of the ICRC. She said the U.S. has received confirmation from Ukraine that it is ready to facilitate the arrival of the aid and arrange for its delivery to Luhansk as long
as certain conditions were met. Such conditions included that the aid passes appropriate customs clearances, that the ICRC takes custody and responsibility for the delivery in Ukraine, that the Russian-backed separatists allow safe access for the delivery and that the shipments are received at a border crossing point controlled by the Ukrainian government in the Kharkiv region. At least 60 miles of the long border between the two neighbors is currently in rebel hands. The U.S. supports the Ukrainian proposal. Russian authorities said the trucks were loaded with nearly 2,000 metric tons of cargo from baby food to portable generators. Television images showed a Russian Orthodox priest sprinkling holy water on the trucks, some of which bore a red cross, before they departed. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia has bowed to Ukrainian demands that the convoy should enter its territory through a checkpoint designated by Kiev, that Ukrainian number plates be put on trucks there and that Ukrainian representatives should be put on board the trucks alongside Red Cross staff.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
THE MARKET IN REVIEW DAILY DOW JONES
STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
d
NYSE 10,705.78
-17.01
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
d
NASDAQ 4,389.25
Last Chg%Chg Name
Fortegra DoralFin Autohme n Veritiv n DrNGBr rs NoahHldgs BitautoH ZaisFincl Q2 Hldgs n DxGldBll rs
9.87 7.33 43.83 49.41 19.30 17.70 73.07 17.18 16.02 50.05
Dow Jones industrials
17,000
Close: 16,560.54 Change: -9.44 (-0.1%)
16,660
Last Chg%Chg
+2.85 +40.6 ROI AcII n 12.50 +2.75 +28.2 +.93 +14.5 Quotinet wt 2.49 +.47 +23.3 +3.93 +9.8 Dealertrk 46.40 +7.32 +18.7 +4.42 +9.8 UtdOnln rs 12.61 +1.92 +18.0 +1.39 +7.8 Uroplasty 2.88 +.43 +17.6 +1.10 +6.6 InterceptP 276.52+39.34 +16.6 +4.08 +5.9 SunshHrt 5.05 +.65 +14.8 +.92 +5.7 TrueCar n 15.87 +2.03 +14.7 +.79 +5.2 Aemetis rs 7.69 +.98 +14.6 +2.38 +5.0 SignalGn n 4.75 +.54 +12.8
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17,200
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KateSpade MillenMda OCI Ptrs n CntlBldg n ReneSola Textura PhxNMda PulseElect DrxDNGBull MatadorRs
29.00 2.52 18.00 13.39 2.60 27.65 10.28 2.31 34.25 25.15
2.37 18.61 2.65 8.45 19.97 7.17 3.62 7.48 4.74 9.01
-9.87 -25.4 Amedica n -.43 -14.6 Tekmira g -2.45 -12.0 Interphase -1.27 -8.7 SyngyP un -.24 -8.5 UBIC -2.52 -8.4 TurtleBch -.92 -8.2 Intersectns -.19 -7.6 MannKd -2.71 -7.3 SpanBdcst -1.76 -6.5 EgaletCp n
-1.03 -5.19 -.63 -1.75 -3.53 -1.12 -.54 -1.05 -.66 -1.15
-30.3 -21.8 -19.2 -17.2 -15.0 -13.5 -13.0 -12.3 -12.2 -11.3
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S&P500ETF 660029 193.53 -.26 KateSpade 522528 29.00 -9.87 B iPVix rs 360543 31.65 -.20 iShEMkts 353873 44.32 +.05 BkofAm 327149 15.21 -.01 MktVGold 303947 27.43 +.46 KindMorg 290176 38.73 -.64 Twitter n 282497 43.81 +.54 iShR2K 273102 112.56 -.78 AMD 272588 4.08 -.06
Vol (00)
Last Chg
MannKd 439409 SiriusXM 335056 Apple Inc s 328232 Facebook 267780 Zynga 261698 PwShs QQQ 251338 Intel 245912 Cisco 214291 MicronT 213636 Microsoft 207123
7.48 -1.05 3.40 -.03 95.97 -.02 72.83 -.61 2.86 +.01 95.42 -.04 33.13 +.11 25.15 -.08 30.70 -.04 43.52 +.32
DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
Volume
1,271 1,815 138 3,224 51 30 2,522,693,610
DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
843 1,826 144 2,813 43 51 1,509,185,807
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AT&T Inc AEP Apple Inc s BkofAm B iPVix rs Caterpillar CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil Dillards EmpIca ExxonMbl FordM GenElec HewlettP HomeDp iShEMkts Intel IntlBcsh IBM KateSpade
NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY
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1.84 2.00 1.88 .20 ... 2.80 2.17 ... 2.92 .24 ... 2.76 .50 .88 .64 1.88 .71 .90 .50 4.40 ...
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5.3 4.0 2.0 1.3 ... 2.7 2.0 ... 3.6 .2 ... 2.8 2.9 3.4 1.8 2.3 1.6 2.7 2.0 2.3 ...
Lowes Lubys MannKd MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine NII Hldg h Penney RadioShk S&P500ETF SanchezEn Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SiriusXM SonyCp UnionPac s USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo
NY NY Nasd NY NY Nasd NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY
.92 ... ... 1.40 3.07 1.12 ... ... ... ... 3.58 ... 1.60 ... ... .24 2.00 .20 .40 1.92 1.40
1.8 ... ... 2.7 ... 2.6 ... ... ... ... 1.8 ... 1.5 ... ... 1.4 2.0 .6 .4 2.6 2.8
10 14 16 18 ... 18 ... ... 13 17 ... 13 11 19 12 21 ... 16 13 12 19
34.64 +.17 50.41 +.07 95.97 -.02 15.21 -.01 31.65 -.20 104.33 -.17 110.67 +.34 48.52 +.04 80.42 -.38 119.67 -2.10 7.27 +.11 98.49 -.24 17.21 +.04 25.61 -.18 35.12 -.08 82.92 +.04 44.32 +.05 33.13 +.11 25.30 -.36 187.34 -.13 29.00 -9.87
-1.5 +7.9 +19.7 -2.3 -25.6 +14.9 -9.1 +23.6 +13.8 +23.1 -14.0 -2.7 +11.5 -8.6 +25.5 +.7 +6.0 +27.6 -4.0 -.1 -9.6
22 ... ... 13 ... 17 5 ... ... ... ... ... 22 ... 57 ... 19 ... 22 15 12
49.83 -.03 5.33 +.03 7.48 -1.05 52.16 +.41 28.09 -.04 43.52 +.32 13.78 -.21 .16 -.50 9.46 -.13 .57 -.07 193.53 -.26 30.59 -.83 107.87 -1.34 36.13 -1.49 3.40 -.03 17.36 -.01 99.67 +.10 35.68 +.14 107.21 +.31 74.22 -.14 49.78 -.11
+.6 -31.0 +43.8 -3.3 -4.1 +16.3 +7.5 -94.2 +3.4 -78.1 +4.8 +24.8 +19.7 -9.1 -2.6 +.4 +18.7 +20.9 +31.9 -5.7 +9.6
Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata, Texas.
JOBS sion levels “before Yellen and Co. get concerned that maybe the economy might be overheating.” Stocks fell after the biggest two-day rally in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since April, depressed by a drop in energy shares as the price of crude oil retreated. The S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent to 1,930.79 by late morning. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, contextualizes monthly payrolls figures by measuring dynamics including resignations, help-wanted ads and the pace of hiring. Although it lags the Labor Department’s other jobs data by a month, Yellen follows the report as a measure of labormarket tightness and worker confidence. Tuesday’s figures indicate there are about 2 unemployed people vying for each opening. The ratio when the last recession began in December 2007 was 1.8 job seekers per opening. Payrolls expanded by 209,000 workers in July, following a 298,000 gain
MUSEUM In fact, that importance has recently grown. “At one time, these were considered white elephants. Museums were chucking them away,” Tykoski said. “But scientists have found that even taxidermied animals retain some genetic material that can be used for research.” Retaining multiple examples of a species — the collection has 508 warbler specimens — allows researchers to study variations within a population. The range of decades represented among the collection’s specimens also ensures that some came from habitats that have long since vanished. “We’re caretakers of research resources,” Tykoski said. “They’ve lasted for decades, and we have to see they last for decades more.” Some people have ideas for other uses. “We get some strange requests,” he said. “Someone
tin last week, very few women came through the doors. “You don’t see the phone ringing off the hook,” Martinez said. Nearly 2,200 abortions were performed in El Paso in 2011 — about 3.1 percent of all abortions in Texas that year. State attorneys pointed that out in court while making the case that nearly 9 of every 10 women in Texas will still live within 150 miles of an abortion provider. Texas is proposing that New
Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year
16,560.54 8,153.80 540.55 10,705.78 4,389.25 859.30 1,933.75 1,380.16 20,476.17 1,133.03
YTD 12-mo Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg -9.44 -2.85 -.08 -17.01 -12.08 -.90 -3.17 -5.59 -50.96 -8.90
-.06 -.03 -.01 -.16 -.27 -.10 -.16 -.40 -.25 -.78
-.10 +10.18 +10.19 +2.94 +5.09 +4.31 +4.62 +2.80 +3.91 -2.63
+7.18 +26.38 +8.72 +11.16 +19.13 +13.27 +14.14 +11.39 +13.87 +7.70
CURRENCIES
Name Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
0.03 0.05 1.66 2.49 3.28
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1.0781 1.6811 1.0921 .7480 102.23 13.1423 .9077
1.0797 1.6786 1.0928 .7472 102.18 13.1927 .9065
British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.
Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init Obj ($Mlns)NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt WS 580 83.90 -2.6 +15.3/A +7.8/E 4.25 2,500 ST 2,536 56.65 -2.0 +22.4/B +13.9/D 5.75 2,000 SH 919 12.49 -1.0 +28.0/A +17.7/D 5.75 1,000 SH 8,218 199.78 +1.9 +24.5/C +27.4/A NL 2,500 SF 609 72.25 +0.3 +13.7/B +10.5/D NL 2,500 ST 260 31.42 -2.7 +14.7/E +12.0/E NL 2,500 ST 672 78.56 -0.9 +13.9/E +17.9/B NL 2,500 SF 147 15.11 -2.8 +6.2/E +13.7/A NL 2,500 ST 1,732 76.18 -2.3 +35.1/A +17.2/B NL 2,500 SF 1,195 83.40 -0.9 +12.8/B +9.0/D NL 2,500 ST 3,010 114.18 -2.0 +18.7/C +21.2/A NL 2,500 ST 2,548 120.18 +0.3 +20.4/C +18.2/A NL 2,500 ST 3,098 42.05 +1.6 +24.9/A +16.9/B NL 2,500 SH 10,301 202.84 -1.6 +26.8/B +19.9/C NL 3,000 ST 3,554 16.10 -3.4 +18.5/C +19.2/A 5.75 750
Continued from Page 1A sion. Job openings in June increased at factories, retailers and professional and business services. The rate of openings rose to 3.3 percent, the highest since June 2007, from 3.2 percent. Some 2.53 million people quit their jobs in June, the most since June 2008, up from the prior month’s 2.49 million. The quits rate, which shows the willingness of workers to leave their jobs and may gauge the degree of optimism in finding a new position, held at 1.8 percent. It read 2.1 percent when the recession started at the end of 2007. Separations rose to 4.55 million in June from 4.53 million, Tuesday’s report showed. Dismissals, which exclude retirements and voluntary departures, decreased to 1.62 million from 1.66 million a month before. In the 12 months ended in June, the economy generated a net 2.4 million jobs, which included 55.7 million hires and 53.3 million separations.
Before then, however, birds were often shot or captured by nets, and most of the large mammals were brought down by big game hunters. “Back then it was OK. There were not regulations or ethical concerns about killing rare animals,” Morton said. Many of the museum’s moose-head specimens, in fact, once hung on the library walls of private homes. A particularly gruesome tableau of a crocodile seizing a small African antelope once graced a donor’s living room. New items are sometimes added. The museum’s curator, Tony Fiorello, who does paleontological research in Alaska, recently accepted the donation of a stuffed musk ox. But other offers are likely to be refused. “People call us up with roadkill or birds that the dog brought in,” Morton said. “We just tell them, ‘No, thanks.”’
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Mexico is an option for El Paso women, even after a federal judge in Mississippi ruled last month that a state can’t shift obligations on constitutional rights — in this case, abortion access — to its neighbors. Texas says its situation isn’t comparable to Mississippi because, unlike there, the law wouldn’t remove all abortion services in the state. “At most, some patients may choose to travel out of state for convenience,” the state wrote in court documents.
0.04 0.05 1.62 2.45 3.28
Australia Britain Canada Euro Japan Mexico Switzerlnd
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
the prior month, Labor Department figures showed last week. Gains have exceeded 200,000 for six straight months, the first time that’s happened since 1997. The improving conditions drew more job seekers into the labor force, pushing up the unemployment rate to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent. Two-thirds of Yellen’s dashboard measures are still shy of their pre-recession levels, including the share of jobless Americans who have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, and the portion of the workingage population in the labor force. In Tuesday’s report, the number of people getting jobs rose to 4.83 million in June, the most since April 2008, from 4.74 million, pushing the hiring rate to 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent. The metric is calculated by dividing the number of monthly hires by the number of employees who worked or received pay during that period. It averaged 2.8 percent during the previous expan-
calls and says ‘We’re having a party’ and wants to know if they can borrow our passenger pigeon. The answer is no.” That wasn’t always the case. On the floor of the museum warehouse is a stuffed lion, posed in mid-pounce. Decades ago, Tykoski said, museum officials lent the lion to a sporting goods store. It came back with a broken tail and with claws removed by souvenir seekers. “It’s good to keep things like this on hand, to show people why we have higher standards now,” he said. Some specimens are more than a century old. The oldest — a snow bunting — dates to 1885. Acquisitions in both the bird and mammal collections tapered off after the 1970s, when, in addition to the museum’s shifting interests, laws were changed to give surviving animals greater protection.
3.25 3.25 0.75 0.75 .00-.25 .00-.25
MUTUAL FUNDS
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BORDERS But one notable clinic isn’t in a fury: the last one left in El Paso. That’s partly because the company behind Hilltop Women’s Reproductive Clinic also owns the one in Santa Teresa. Gloria Martinez, the administrative nurse at the El Paso clinic, said that office will say open and simply refer women across state lines for the procedure. Martinez said business has dropped the past four years. As the trial got underway in Aus-
Dow Industrials Dow Transportation Dow Utilities NYSE Composite Nasdaq Composite S&P MidCap S&P 500 S&P MidCap Wilshire 5000 Russell 2000
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are full,” Morton said. “Really, we don’t have space for anything more.” The stuffed specimens range from an extinct passenger pigeon to the we-only-wish-theywere-extinct grackle. “Our mission is to preserve the diversity of all Texas wildlife,” said Ron Tykoski, who also manages the collection, explaining why someone would safeguard a dead grackle. The rows of stuffed birds and predators represent an earlier era in natural history museums. Since the 1970s, museum visitors and staff are more likely to be interested in a pachyrhinosaurus skeleton than in a stuffed polar bear. Tykoski, a staff paleontologist, said the specimens — though unlikely to be exhibited in the museum’s public spaces — are an important part of the Perot’s scientific mission.
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LUIS DE LOS SANTOS Luis De Los Santos 90, passed away on Monday, August 11, 2014 at Laredo Specialty Hospital in Laredo, Texas. Mr. De Los Santos is preceded in death by his wife, Francisca De Los Santos. Mr. De Los Santos is survived by his sons, Arnoldo (Gayle) De Los Santos, Armando (Yolanda) De Los Santos, Adolio (†Carolina) De Los Santos, Adolfo (Elvira) De Los Santos, †Joel (Nelda) Gonzalez; daughters, Angelica De Los Santos, Adela (Mario) Silva and Alma (†Carlos) Chapa; grandchildren, Maricela Ramirez, Blanca Gonzalez, Francis Molina, Cristina Gonzalez, Elio, Omar De Los Santos, Aldo, Arlo, Eric De Los Santos, Illeana, Victoria Silva, Yilsa De Los Santos, Karla Chapa, Gabino, Arturo De Los Santos, Angel Cuellar and Victor Guzman; numerous great-grandchildren; sister, Margarita Cavazos; brothers-in-law, Servando Gonzalez and Leonzo Gonzalez; and by numerous other family members and friends. Visitation hours will be held Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at
14,719.43 6,237.14 467.93 9,246.89 3,573.57 728.63 1,627.47 1,170.62 17,305.21 1,009.00
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17,151.56 8,515.04 576.98 11,334.65 4,485.93 886.27 1,991.39 1,452.01 21,108.12 1,213.55
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STOCK MARKET INDEXES 52-Week High Low
Laster said closing her clinic, Reproductive Services El Paso, removed the city’s only abortion provider that gave women financial assistance for a procedure that costs around $530. Abortion providers say if they’re lucky, the border women choose to cross will be into New Mexico — and not into Mexico to buy drugs that allow them to undergo dangerous self-abortions. “It is not as easy as the Legislature makes it look,” Laster said.
Hiring gains could catalyze enough income growth to drive up consumer spending, which accounts for almost 70 percent of the economy. Businesses expanding their talent pools include Union Pacific Corp. The largest publicly traded railroad expects to hire a total of 5,000 people in 2014, of which 4,000 are expected to cover attrition. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., one of the largest providers of outsourcing services, netted 8,800 new hires in the second quarter, the most since 2011. The overall progress in the economy and labor market has allowed Fed policy makers to further reduce their bond-buying while keeping interest rates at record lows. The Federal Open Market Committee announced July 30 that it would trim monthly asset purchases by $10 billion, to $25 billion. The central bankers repeated that they’ll probably reduce purchases in “further measured steps,” while keeping interest rates low for a “considerable time.”
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014